| 26 October 2009

Fidelity Investments is so committed to the wireless platform that they have a Chief Wireless Officer. Joseph Ferra has been running Fidelity's wireless efforts for eight years now, and the trend is his friend.

As the use of smartphone devices expands and users of all ages become more comfortable with mobile applications, it stands to reason that banking and brokerage operations support the platform. According to Wall Street & Technology, Fidelity has experience triple-digit growth in the number trades, users and log-ins in each of the last three years. "It's due to Gen X and Gen Y and the newer devices such as the iPhone," explains Ferra in the article.

We wondered aloud earlier this month whether mobile trading applications were necessary and were immediately met with some skepticism on our musings. The real question is whether a smartphone is the best device for making and executing trading decisions, as opposed to just checking in on your portfolio and related news. The answer, we suppose, depends on your trading style and whether you're a boomer, an Xer or a Y.

Ferra says he does his best to understand his users. "Not only do we understand the technology, but we also understand the whole ecosystem and the context of the mobile user," he said.  "Context is king -- you have to understand the end user and how he or she is using your services."

Whether or not mobile applications are critical, they're certainly used and liked. It's clear that the applications are an important part of the mix that a broker must offer, despite the fact the only 10-11% of adults in the U.S. own smartphones.

During its Q3 earnings call last week, optionsXpress (OXPS) CEO David Fisher said, "Our mobile application has made a great success with over 12,000 customers having downloaded OX Mobile to-date."

He commented further on what their customers find so valuable about the product. "This product gives the investors the ability to not only monitor their investments," he said, "but to actually place trades including options and features trades for most smartphones including Blackberrys, iPhones, android enabled phones, the Palm Pre, and the Windows mobile devices."

E*TRADE Financial (ETFC) has also made a strong push into the mobile space, launching E*TRADE Mobile Pro for the Blackberry and the iPhone this year. They earlier announced more than two million log-ins on the Mobile Pro product.

Interactive Brokers (IBKR) also recently announced the launch of an iPhone application.

Fidelity's closest competitor, Charles Schwab (SCHW), also offers wireless trading, though they don't release details about usage.

Fidelity claims it was the first to offer wireless access to its account services. Fidelity's wireless applications are all created in-house. There is the question whether developing in-house is still the best approach. E*TRADE has outsourced its highly successful mobile application development to  Vaultus, while optionsXpress relies on tools from Market Simplified.